Many alcoholic beverages are produced using multiple-step processes comprising one or more of the steps of (1) producing ethanol by fermentation of sugars, grains, juices, or other produce; (2) distilling the product of fermentation to produce ethanolic spirits; and (3) aging the ethanolic spirits until the beverage possesses desirable flavor, aroma, and color characteristics. Historically, this third step, the aging process, involved storing the ethanolic spirit in wooden casks or barrels. Changes in the flavor, aroma, and color of the ethanolic spirit during the aging process occur as a result of the chemical interaction of the ethanol, water, and essential oils in the spirit, with each other and with additional flavoring agents that are absorbed from the wood of the container. This process may take weeks, months, or years. Beverages produced in this manner include Scotch, Irish, bourbon, rye, Canadian, and Australian whiskeys, rum, brandy, armagnac, cognac, many wines, and the like.
Of particular interest are whiskeys, which require years of maturation to achieve desirable characteristics. Many attempts have been made to find a suitable way to reduce the aging time required to produce whiskey, without changing the characteristics of the final product. None of the methods yet attempted for reducing the aging time of whiskey have solved the problem without changing the composition of the final product by adding undesirable agents or removing desirable ones. Thus, there exists a continuing need to find an alternative to the historical aging technique, requiring a shorter time, yet producing a beverage with desirable flavor, aroma, and color characteristics.